Issued October 2, 2015
Job Growth Slows in September Latino Unemployment Rate Lowest in Months
Food Services Continues to Grow In September 2015, food services and drinking places added 21,000 new jobs, less than the summer average, but growth nonetheless. Food services, an industry where Latinos are overrepresented, has continued to grow, adding 349,000 new jobs this year. Latinos represent one-quarter of workers in food services, compared to 16% of the total workforce.
The Employment Situation for Latino Workers in September 2015 The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that U.S. employers only added 142,000 jobs in September 2015, lower than the 198,000 average monthly gains so far in 2015. Despite lower job gains, the national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1%. The unemployment rate for Latinos inched down to 6.4% in September from 6.6% in August. The decline in unemployment may reflect slightly more employed Latinos or students returning to school and no longer participating in the labor force. However, the Latino unemployment rate remains stubbornly higher than the national unemployment rate.
Latinos, September 2015
Indicators Employed • Working people over the age of 16, including those temporarily absent from their jobs Unemployed • Those who are available to work, make an effort to find a job, or expect to be called back from a layoff but are not working
24.4 million 1.7 million
Civilian Labor Force • The sum of employed and unemployed people
26.1 million
Not in the Labor Force • People over the age of 16 classified as neither employed nor unemployed
13.8 million
Unemployment Rate • Share of the labor force that is unemployed
6.4%
Labor Force Participation Rate • Share of the population over the age of 16 that is in the labor force
65.5%
Employment-Population Ratio • Share of the population over the age of 16 that is working
61.3%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment Status of the Hispanic or Latino Population by Sex and Age,” Current Population Survey, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t03.htm (accessed October 2, 2015), Table A-3.
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